The High Court has upheld the refusal to revive the liquor licence formerly attached to Greencastle Fort Hotel in Donegal, ruling that the licence could not be renewed under the statutory provision relied on by its owner.
Mr Justice Michael Peart delivered the judgment on 28 June 2010. The appeal followed a Circuit Court order of 30 January 2010 refusing the application. The High Court affirmed that order.
The applicant was Nicholas Brown, nominated by McCloskey and O’Kane Building Company Limited. The company bought the hotel premises, about seven acres of adjoining land, and the licence and goodwill in 2004 for €2.775 million. The judgment said the hotel had been boarded up after the purchase and had not traded since. The premises had become dilapidated and vandalised, though the structure remained sound and substantial refurbishment would be needed before it could operate as a hotel.
The licence last expired on 30 September 2005. The company applied to the Circuit Court on 25 September 2009, within five years, seeking renewal under section 2(1) of the Licensing (Ireland) Act 1902. It said the economic downturn had stalled development plans and it wished to keep open the possibility of reopening the hotel. The local Fire Officer opposed the application because the premises were not fit to be used as licensed premises. The company offered to refrain from trading until the Fire Officer considered it safe and appropriate.
The High Court’s decision turned on the type of licence, rather than the timing of the application. Evidence included a copy of the licence last renewed in September 2004, which referred to section 2(2) of the 1902 Act and section 19 of the Intoxicating Liquor Act 1960. The judge concluded that the premises had a hotel licence under section 2(2), later accompanied by an order extinguishing an ordinary seven-day licence to permit a public bar.
The judge held that the five-year renewal route in section 2(1) applied to a different category: premises with a pre-1902 ordinary publicans’ licence. Because the Greencastle licence was in the section 2(2) hotel category, applying within five years did not give the court jurisdiction to revive it. The offered undertaking about future trading did not overcome that legal obstacle.
The judgment said a fresh hotel-licence application would face requirements including a certificate that the hotel was registered with Bord Fáilte, as well as a possible objection based on the premises’ fitness. The judge did not decide whether the earlier public-bar extinguishment order would remain effective if a new licence were obtained. The only order made on this appeal was to affirm the Circuit Court’s refusal.